• Jupiterimages/Comstock/Getty Images
  
  The small block Chevy 327 engine gave power to the ordinary car buyer. In 1966, the 427 option for the Corvette cost six times as much as the 327 and came to approximately 10 percent of the entire cost of the car. The 327 made it possible for everyone to have eyelid-fluttering power in their new Corvettes.
  
  

The Basics

• The small block displaced 327 cubic inches (5.7 liters) and produced between 210 and 375 horsepower, depending on the fuel delivery method, compression ratio, camshaft, cylinder heads, intake manifolds and pistons. The compression ratio varied from 8.75-to-1 to 11.0-to-1. The 210-horsepower engine used a single two-barrel carburetor with an 8.75-to-1 compression ratio. The heftiest 327, delivering 375 horsepower, came with fuel injection, solid lifters and an aluminum cylinder head.
  
  

The Big Advantage

• The 327 engine gained an immediate advantage by using a wide bore and a short stroke. The 4-inch bore meant room for big valves and the 3.25-inch stroke meant the piston didn't travel far with each cycle. That meant lots of fuel/air mixture to burn and a small, efficient stroke that could be done quickly. Chevy coupled this with fuel injection, which pushed as much fuel/air mixture into the combustion chamber as the engine could handle.
  
  

Model Usage

• From 1962 until 1969, the small block V-8 powered the Malibu, Impala, El Camino, Chevelle and Chevy II. From 1962 until 1965, the Corvette used a special high-performance 327. General Motors introduced the 350-, the 396- and the 427-cubic-inch engines in 1968 and the 327 begin to leave the automotive scene. In 1969, GM provided only two 327 versions with reduced power and prestige.